In
1998, McKinsey & Co declared the "War for Talent" They
didn't do so lightly. Their study
spanned an entire year, involved scores of companies, thousands of
people and had a specific conclusion: In the "new economy"
the key to success is to attract and retain the best talent.
Their findings were logical, widely accepted and most likely wrong.
Much important research has been done on talent over the
last few decades and recently the subject has been taken on by
mainstream authors such as Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers and,
more seriously, by Fortune Editor Geoff Colvin in his book Talent is Overrated.
While there is very little indication that talent can be identified
beforehand, there is a growing body of evidence that talent can be
developed to an astounding degree after employees are hired ...
